Prosecutors ask court to imprison Samsung heir for 12 years

Samsung wordmark (Photo by Wikimedia commons, Public Domain)

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — South Korean prosecutors have recommended imprisoning a billionaire Samsung heir for 12 years if he is convicted of bribery and other crimes in a national corruption scandal.

Prosecutors’ recommendation Monday concludes the four-month-long hearing over the allegations against Lee Jae-yong.

The 49-year-old vice chair at Samsung Electronics was indicted in February on charges including offering $38 million in bribes to a friend of then-President Park Geun-hye to seek government help in a merger that strengthened his control over Samsung. Park was removed from office and is being tried separately.

Lee has denied all charges and distanced himself from Samsung’s now-disbanded secretive strategy office that oversaw the merger at the centre of the scandal.

The charges could entail at least five years in prison if Lee is convicted